Building construction.



N0. 7l4,876. Patented D80. 2, I902,

W. H. DRAKE.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

(Application filed Aug. 16, 1902.)

(No Model.)

THE "brill! mus 60., Pmro-Lrmm. WAS-HINUYON. B. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. DRAKE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 714,87 6, datedDecember 2, 1902. Application filed August 16, 1902. Serial No. 119,857.(No model.)

To (all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Building Construction,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of buildings,and has particular reference to the floors and roofs thereof; and itconsists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novelarrangement, and operation of the various parts, as will be hereinaftermore fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The principal object of my invention is to form along the floor and rooflines from wall to wall a barrier that will prevent or retard thepassage of fire from one story to another inside of the building, alsofrom without or from within through the roof.

Other objects of the invention are to strengthen or reinforce thejoists, to hinder the passage of vermin, odors, and sound, to save theexpense of the common mortar floordeafening and the rough floor anddeafeningstrips, thus decreasing the amount of combustible material.

Other objects and advantages will be disclosed in the subjoineddescription and explanation.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionpertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it,referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is alongitudinal view of a portion of a building embodying my invention,showing the walls thereof in section and the joist and arched barrier inelevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal View,partly in section and partly in elevation, of a portion of a building,showing a partition-wall and illustrating a modification of thesupporting-strips for the arches or barriers. Fig. 4c is across-sectional View taken on line at 4 of Fig. 3 looking in thedirection indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentalperspective view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of aportion of one of the walls of the building and parts of the joists andarches comprising the floor or roof as constructed in Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the different views ofthe drawings.

A represents the walls of the building, which are preferably provided ontheir inner or adjacent surfaces with projecting courses of brick a toform shoulders or springers for the series of arches comprising a partof the floor or roof. Extending from one wall to the other and embeddedat their ends therein and resting on the courses a of brick when thelatter are used are a series of joists B, which are placed parallel withone another and horizontally, as shown.

To each of the side surfaces of each of the joists B is areinforcing andarch-supporting strip C, which is preferably made of angleiron bent toform an arc, with its ends extending to about the lower edge and ends ofthe joist to which it is secured. On the laterally-extending flanges ofthe strips C of angle-iron is laid in mortar, brick, or terracotta D,thus forming arched barriers of fireproof material, which extend fromend to end of the joists and from wall to wall in the spaces between thejoists and between the joists and walls.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the. drawings I have illustrated a modification inmy construction, which consists in employing wooden strips C instead ofangle-iron strips for supporting the arched barriers of brick orterra-cotta D or other suitable material, which strips are bolted orotherwise secured to the side surfaces of the joists in a manner similarto that of the angle-iron strips and above described. In Fig. 3 I havealso shown A between the outer walls, in tion-wall the courses of bricka, forming the shoulders or springers, may be omitted, the joists beingfitted into suitable recesses a in said partition-wall.

Experience has shown that where fire in rising meets a horizontalbarrier there is a lack of fresh air or oxygen to feed the fire, whichconsequently smolders or is smothered, so that the woodwork below may beconsumed before the bearing capacity of the fioor or which partiroofconstructed according to my invention becomes seriously impaired.

a partition-wall From the foregoing and by reference to the drawings itwill be readily understood and clearly seen that by employing myconstruction a perfect barrier to prevent or retard the passage of fireis provided, thus confining the action of the flames to one story onlyand greatly aiding in extinguishment.

'It is further evident that my construction greatly strengthens thejoists and economizes in the expense of floor-deafening material, and,besides, decreases the amount of coinbustible material.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A floor or roof construction, comprising the Walls, the paralleljoists extending from one wall to the other and suitably supported attheir ends thereby, the curved angular reinforcing and supporting stripssecured to the joists, the said strips having their horiz'ontal portionsor flanges projecting from their upper edges, and the brick orterra-cotta laid upon the upper surface of said flanges or horizontalportions and filling the spaces between the joists and extending fromwall to Wall, substantially as described.

2. A floor or roof construction, comprising the walls, thehorizontally-projecting shoulders or springers thereon, the paralleljoists extending from wall to wall and resting at their ends on saidshoulders, the curved reinforcing and supporting strips secured to thesides of the joists, and the brick or terra-cotta laid upon thesupporting-strips and filling the spaces between the joists andextending from 7 Wall to wall, substantially as described.

WILLIAM H. DRAKE.

